Dragon Armor

Dragon Gets Re-Skinned

Ahead of the arrival of several important new subjects, we’ve decided to re-set our entire Dragon Armor section to both bring it up-to-date and reflect some of the changes you can expect to see in the coming months. We’ve broken down several sections to make them easier to find and stripped out some sub sections that no longer have any relevance to the line and average collector.

Our distributor is still working up our latest shipment and all of the new items that are currently showing as en route should be in stock and ready for immediate shipment by the second week of June. This cache will include a few Cyber Hobby releases, which will likely be augmented with other new limited edition products over the course of the next few months.

In a related development, Dragon announced eight new 1:72 scale vehicles are being added to their Neo Dragon Armor range. The octet, which were posted to our web site in June, include several of the standard Sturmgeschutz III assault guns along with a pair of Sturmhaubitze ’42. As expected, Dragon will be offering a StuG III based upon the legendary panzer ace, Michael Wittmann, when he served in Russia at the outset of Operation Barbarossa.

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Dragon Catches Fire in May

Dragon’s 1:72 scale US M1124 Stryker ATGM Guided Missile Vehicle

With Chinese factories now open, and most workers having returned to their jobs, we were wondering what the status was with Dragon’s newly launched Neo Dragon Armor series. Several items were announced months ago and were already appearing in Asian stores, making it hard to understand why they weren’t available yet here in the North American market. According to our distributor, several items are scheduled to arrive in mid-May, including DRR63005, a US M1124 Stryker ATGM Guided Missile Vehicle. Interestingly, DRR63005 is already sold out at the factory and distributor level, so if you are looking to nab one of these replicas we strongly recommend you pre-order them now before they run out. We have a handful still left for pre-order and we doubt any will be listed for general sale once they do arrive.

Dragon’s 1:72 scale PLA ZBL-09 Snow Leopard Infantry Fighting Vehicle – Digital Camouflage, Parade Version

Also in the hopper is DRR63001, a Peoples Liberation Army ZBL-09 Snow Leopard Infantry Fighting Vehicle. The standard vehicle will come in a digitzed camouflage scheme with white wall tires, making it ideal for Chinese military parades. A special edition vehicle, available in limited quantities, will come with a PLA flag and the more traditional blackened tires. Finally, a limited edition vehicle will come in UN markings and is painted all-white, standard attire for a United Nations vehicle performing a peacekeeping mission. Only one piece in every 24-piece master carton contains the limited edition vehicle, hence the higher price.

Dragon’s 1:72 scale Limited Edition PLA ZBL-09 Snow Leopard Infantry Fighting Vehicle – United Nations Peacekeeping Force
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What Goes Up Must Come Down

Forces of Valor’s 1:32 scale German Sd. Kfz. 186 Jagdpanzer VI Jagdtiger Heavy Tank Destroyer with Henschel Suspension – Kampfgruppe Goggler, 3/schwere Panzerjager Abteilung 653, Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Germany, 1945 [Bonus Maybach V-12 HL 230 P30 Engine]

Forces of Valor has formally announced plans to revise their pricing structure for their 1:32 scale military vehicle line beginning in early 2020. Essentially, smaller scale vehicles, such as their jeep and zundapp, will carry a MAP of $69.99. Medium sized vehicles, which includes the Sherman tanks and other similarly-sized items, will be pegged at $79.99, while the larger vehicles, including their upcoming Jagdpanther, Jagdtiger and Tiger tanks, will sell for $89.99. These increases are designed to cover the costs associated with upgrading all of the existing molds to the revised specifications, the inclusion of larger display bases as well as the creation of new toolings for some of the vehicles expected to appear in 2020. As an aside, we will honor the price of any pre-orders that have already been submitted to us for the larger sized vehicles.

Dragon’s 1:72 scale US M1296 Dragoon Armored Personnel Carrier

In other news, Dragon has set the retail price of its upcoming 1:72 scale Stryker family of military vehicles at $29.99, $10 less than what we originally had them listed for. Here again, we will honor the new lower price and refund any differences due for those individuals that may have pre-paid for these vehicles. Refunds will be issued at the time of shipping, which is now expected to occur in January.

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Dragon Rises from the Ashes

My heart beat still. After headed the way of the Dodo bird over the last year, Dragon has seemingly risen from the ashes and posted three new Dragon Armor pieces to their web site this morning. All three are based upon the US Army’s family of Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicles. We had pretty much given up hope that the Dragon Armor line would ever return to its former glory, so the news that not one but three new vehicles are in the offing comes as quite a bit of a shock to us and I’m sure to others.

Right now, all three vehicles are listed as rolling out in November, although this shouldn’t be taken as gospel just yet since Dragon has posted optimistic forecasts in the past. Still, its nice to know that they are back and in a big way, no longer ceding the market to several companies that have carved out respectable shares of the marketplace while Dragon snoozed.

We are keeping our fingers crossed that this is but the start of something big for everyone concerned, and that other product categories in the Dragon catalog, long dormant but never quite counted out, will begin to make a return to their illustrious past.

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Better Late than Never

Dragon’s 1:72 German Sd. Kfz. 182 PzKpfw VI King Tiger Ausf. B Heavy Tank – “313”, schwere Panzer Abteilung 501, Ardennes, 1944

As we hinted at earlier this month, there seems to be no shortage of new arrivals looking to pry open the 2018 door in an effort to still make it under the tree this holiday season. This weekend, Dragon announced that both of their long delayed 1:72 scale King Tigers are finally in the US and are now making their way to us as we speak (DRR60399 and DRR60400). With the holidays looming and shipping issues likely to kick in, look for both vehicles to become available the first week of January.


Corgi’s 1:72 German Dornier Do17Z-10 Kauz Light Bomber – Erich Jung, R4+AK, I/Nachtjagdgeschwader 2, Gilze-Rijen Airfield, Holland, October 1940

Corgi also announced that a flock of latecomers made port and are winging their way to us tout de suite. The haul includes:

AA38109 – RNAS Sopwith Camel Fighter – Flight Lieutenant Lloyd S Breadner, No.3 Squadron, Bray Dunes Aerodrome, France, 1918

AA38906 – German Fokker D VII Fighter – 4649/18 “Seven Swabians” Wilhelm Scheutzel, Jasta 65, September 1918 (1:48 Scale)

AA32820 – RAF De Havilland Mosquito Mk. VI Night Fighter – Flt. Lt. D A G “George” Parry, No. 105 Squadron [100 Years of the RAF] (1:72 Scale)

AA38808 – German Dornier Do17Z-10 Kauz Light Bomber – Erich Jung, R4+AK, I/Nachtjagdgeschwader 2, Gilze-Rijen Airfield, Holland, October 1940 (1:72 Scale)

AA36111 – RAF Consolidated Catalina Mk.IVA Flying Boat – JV928 ‘Y’ Flight Officer Alexander Cruickshank, VC 210 Squadron, July 1944 [100 Years of the RAF] (1:72 Scale)

The December Hobby Master shipment is reportedly on the high seas and could likely hit the streets in early January. While not exactly containing any stocking stuffers, the December shipment nevertheless includes a number of notable releases so don’t spend all of your gift card money just yet if you’re looking to nab some of these favorites.

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Dragon Reemerges From its Slumber

Dragon Armor 1:72
German Sd. Kfz. 161 PzKpfw IV Ausf. F2 (G) Medium Tank – 13.Panzer Division, Northern Caucasus, Russia, 1942

Its not clear why Dragon seems to have slowed production of late of their Dragon Armor range or why they have opted to build replicas they have offered in the past while other manufacturers have taken a more riskier approach. Suffice it to say that another pair of 1:72 PzKpfw IV medium tanks  are in the offing, both scheduled for a mid-October release. The first is a German Sd. Kfz. 161 PzKpfw IV Ausf. F2 (G) Medium Tank – 13.Panzer Division, Northern Caucasus, Russia, 1942 (DRR60697) while the second is a German Sd. Kfz. 161 PzKpfw IV Ausf. F2 (G) Medium Tank – Unidentified Unit, Eastern Front, 1943 (DRR60698).

Dragon Armor 1:72
German Sd. Kfz. 161 PzKpfw IV Ausf. F2 (G) Medium Tank – Unidentified Unit, Eastern Front, 1943

We’re hoping that their long awaited pair of King Tiger heavy tanks and Sturmgeschutz assault guns aren’t too far behind, and that they are not giving up in the small scale sector.


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Where For Art Thou Dragon Armor?

Dragon Models recently updated their web site and it now appears as if several 1:72 scale Dragon Armor pieces — that had been pushed back for several months running — are no longer any where to be found. It’s not clear if they have been cancelled, postponed or delayed due to poor sales performance of several previous Dragon Armor releases, but the fact remains that it certainly doesn’t bode well for the category in general or the items in particular.

The pieces in question include:

DRR60697 – German Sd. Kfz. 161 PzKpfw IV Ausf. F2 (G) Medium Tank – 13.Panzer Division, Northern Caucasus, Russia, 1942 (1:72 Scale)

DRR60698 – German Sd. Kfz. 161 PzKpfw IV Ausf. F2 (G) Medium Tank – Unidentified Unit, Eastern Front, 1943 (1:72 Scale)

DRR60399 – German Sd. Kfz. 182 PzKpfw VI King Tiger Ausf. B Heavy Tank – “313”, schwere Panzer Abteilung 501, Ardennes, 1944 (1:72 Scale)

DRR60400 – German Sd. Kfz. 182 PzKpfw VI King Tiger Ausf. B Heavy Tank – schwere Panzer Abteilung 509, Hungary, 1945 (1:72 Scale)

We asked Dragon about their removal from their sites several days ago and thus far have not gotten a definitive response. So, we will leave them up on our web site for a few more days until we receive a final answer. If history serves as any indication, then Dragon has posted a number of Dragon Armor pieces in the past that never came to fruition.

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Dragon’s Fire Tamed: 3.SS and the Campaign in the Donbas

Dragon’s 1:72 scale German Sd. Kfz. 161 PzKpfw IV Ausf. G Medium Tank – 7.Panzer Regiment “Totenkopf”, 3.SS Panzer Grenadier Division “Totenkopf”, Kharkov, Russia, 1943

Maybe its appropriate that Dragon’s newest pair of 1:72 scale armored releases make it to market during the winter time frame. Just in time for the holidays and available for immediate shipping are two flocked Panzer IVs – the first, a German Sd. Kfz. 161 PzKpfw IV Ausf. G Medium Tank – 7.Panzer Regiment “Totenkopf”, 3.SS Panzer Grenadier Division “Totenkopf”, Kharkov, Russia, 1943 (DRR60699), the second, a restock of a German Sd. Kfz. 161 PzKpfw IV Ausf. G Medium Tank – 7.Panzer Regiment “Totenkopf”, 3.SS Panzer Grenadier Division “Totenkopf”, Kharkov, Russia, 1943 (DRR60700).The second tank has been out-of-stock for several months, so we’re excited to have it back in our armored stable for the holiday rush.

Dragon’s 1:72 scale German Sd. Kfz. 161 PzKpfw IV Ausf. G Medium Tank – 7.Panzer Regiment “Totenkopf”, 3.SS Panzer Grenadier Division “Totenkopf”, Kharkov, Russia, 1943

All things being equal, both items are beautiful pieces, perhaps some of the nicest tracked warriors to come out of the Dragon factory in some time.

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Dragon Armor: A Return to its Heyday?

A 1:72 scale M4A3(76) W VVSS Sherman Medium Tank is slated for a December roll out

Typically, Dragon Models announces the availability of new 1:72 scale model kits as a prelude to releasing new pre-assembled replicas a few months later. Earlier today, two intriguing kits were unveiled by the manufacturer: one portraying a WWII-era US M4A3(76) Sherman tank with a VVSS suspension and the other a German early production Tiger I command tank used by famed panzer ace, Michael Wittmann.

Anyone remember these guys? It was vehicles like this that helped set the hobby on fire over a dozen years ago and now it looks like they may be making a return engagement.

If you recall, these pre-assembled vehicles sold out eons ago, snapped up by collectors for their use in wargaming, dioramas and curio cabinets largely for their historical significance. With other vehicles already in the queue, and likely even more bringing up the rear, this comes as welcome news for the hobby, perhaps harkening back to the glory days of collecting Dragon Armor pieces.

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Dragon Returns to do Battle

Dragon’s 1:72 scale German Sd. Kfz. 182 PzKpfw VI King Tiger Ausf. B Heavy Tank – schwere Panzer Abteilung 501, Ardennes, 1944

If you weren’t lucky enough to score some of the Cyber-Hobby 1:72 scale tanks released well over a decade ago, then you may want to toss that Fidget aside and take notice. To help restart their Dragon Armor line, the Company plans to offer two new King Tiger Ausf. B heavy tanks that look eerily similar to some of the Cyber-Hobby versions that have skyrocketed in value over the years. While they won’t come in collector tins or come bundled with numbered certificates of authenticity like their expensive cousins, the first pairing of heavies will no doubt get scooped up by the handful once they hit the street in November.

Dragon’s German Sd. Kfz. 182 PzKpfw VI King Tiger Ausf. B Heavy Tank – schwere Panzer Abteilung 509, Hungary, 1945

We’ve listed both vehicles (DRR60399 and DRR60400) on our web site and have begun accepting pre-orders. Keep in mind both of these replicas are already being considered home runs in the collectible market, and will no doubt soar in value once they start to sell out. As far as we are concerned, these are considered “no-brainers” that signal the start of something big in Dragon’s armored stable.

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